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heyjoe415 avatar

Newly replaced hip dislocated after 4 weeks.

Joint Replacements | Last Active: Sep 28 11:52am | Replies (47)

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Profile picture for steveinarizona @steveinarizona

@heyjoe415 "And that's about it. Steve mentions the SuperPATH method and I am unfamiliar with it, but it certainly sounds promising. The problem is that it is patented, so you may have trouble finding a hospital system willing to pay royalties for a relatively uncomplicated surgery, specifically referring to anterior."

I don't think it is the patent costs. I suspect they are pretty minor compared to the total cost. The biggest problem is that hip surgery is complex and takes many years of practice to get really good at it. Once a practitioner learns a method, he usually doesn't want to learn another. For example, my brother and I are scheduled to have knee replacement surgery on the same day. His surgeon uses a tourniquet which causes considerable post surgical pain; my surgeon prescribed tranexamic acid to reduce bleeding and operates without a tournquet. Both doctors in my example are hip and knee surgeons. I was very surprised to read the other day that only 13% of knee surgeons use a robot. My surgeon, who works on the cutting edge of technology always uses a robotic assistant.

So I think it surgeon unwillingness to learn new methods and the time involved that stops more surgeons from using first anterior and now the supercapsulated methods.

I like your search criteria but I would slightly modify it. I would put less importance to where a surgeon went to school and did his fellowships. Being an academic high achiever doesn't necessarily make one good at other things (I was an academic high achiever going to the best law school but that doesn't mean I had the personality and skill to convince a jury that my position was correct). I would also modify your age criteria to move it slightly higher (say 40s and early fifties). You want the surgeon to have a lot of experience doing your type of surgery and that takes time.

Knowledgeable referrals also can be very helpful. A friend of mine needed should replacement surgery. My hip/knee surgeon was recovering from rotator cuff surgery (skateboarding) so I asked him who did his shoulder on the theory that a top rated surgeon would go to another equally skilled surgeon. He told me and I passed that info on to my friend. I was recently at my rheumatologist and he got a phone call and told me he had to take it because it was his wife and she was having her hip replaced the next day -- it was my surgeon (Jimmy Chow).

Greater Phoenix has a magazine that does annual doctor ratings based on other doctor responses. That has always been a good starting point for me.

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Replies to "@heyjoe415 "And that's about it. Steve mentions the SuperPATH method and I am unfamiliar with it,..."

Thanks Steve!

You make a good point - doing well at a highly-rated school in a certain subject area is no guarantee that will translate to practice. I didn't state it explicitly, but I couple that with where an ortho surgeon does their residency/fellowship (where they are accepted).

For example, my shoulder surgeon is in his mid 40s, attended U of WI Medical College (a high-regarded program), and was chosen for the residency/fellowship programs ultimately specializing in knees and shoulders.

UW only accepts 6 students per year to its ortho residency program. So my selection criteria requires a successful education at a highly-rated med school AND completion of a residency/fellowship program at a highly-regarded hospital or clinic. Then more elite the criteria, the better.

I'm also fortunate because my healthcare provider works with the UW Medical College. That means my hospital is a "learning facility" - a good way for all my Drs to stay current on best medical practices.

In the absence of any of this info - I think your idea of checking references, reviews, and looking at the number of procedures performed is also a good way to find a v good surgeon.

Joe